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Canadian Northern Railway Port Arthur Subdivision

The Canadian Northern Railway Port Arthur Subdivision began in Port Arthur, Ontario and terminated in Atikokan, Ontario, 142.4 miles to the west.

This line west from the Lakehead has undergone many transformations since it opened for traffic in 1902, including a re-routing in 1911. The grade between Stanley and Kakabeka was particularly bad, so in 1909, CNoR decided to build a new section of line from Rosslyn to Kakabeka. The new route was shorter and the grades much easier. The new junction point became Twin City (MP 11.8) and the 3.94 miles of track from Stanley to Kakebeka was abandoned. Because of its incline, the old route was known as “High Track.”

The line is still active. The portion from Thunder Bay to Atikokan, Ontario is known as the CN-Kashabowie Subdivision. From 1925 to 1994, the first 35 miles of the subdivision carried traffic for two lines; the Kashabowie Subdivision and the Graham Subdivision. The Graham Subdivision was originally the Lake Superior Branch of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway, which connected to the National Transcontinental Railway at Superior Junction. The Graham Subdivision was created by re-routing the line and abandoning the eastern 26 miles of track between the Mattawin River and Fort William (Thunder Bay). To accommodate the traffic and link with the old GTPR line, a second track was added between the Neebing Yard and Conmee Junction and a combination truss/pier bridge was built over the Mattawin River. The Graham Subdivision was abandoned in 1994 and the double track was reduced to a single line.

Milepost	Station, Siding or Point	Elevation (ft.)
0	Port Arthur	615
3	Fort William	613
6	Westfort*	632
8.5	Neebing Yard	654
11.8	Twin City Junction	723
13	Slate River/Rosslyn**	727
19	Stanley**	720
19-23	High Track**	915
23.4	Kakabeka	915
35.7	Conmee Junction	1097
142.4	Atikokan	1284